Transforming the Diminished Chord - Barry Harris System For Guitar

✔︎ Lowering a single note of a diminished chord produces a dominant chord.

✔︎ Raising a single note produces a minor 6 chord.

✔︎ Lowering two adjacent notes produces a major 6 chord.

✔︎ Lowering or raising two non-adjacent notes produces a dominant 7 flat 5 chord.

In this way, dominant 7, minor 6, and major 6 harmony can all be understood as resolutions of diminished motion, rather than separate harmonic structures.

Developing Dominant Chords from F°7

In the Barry Harris system, a dominant 7 chord is created by lowering any single note of a fully diminished seventh chord.

Because the diminished chord is symmetrical, F°7 can generate four different dominant 7 chords, all related by minor thirds.

Starting point

F°7
Notes: F – A♭ – B – D (E♭♭)

1. Lower F → E → E7

E – A♭(G♯) – B – D

This produces E7.

2. Lower B → B♭ → B♭7

B♭– D – F – A♭

This produces B♭7

3. Lower D → D♭ → D♭7

D♭– F – A♭ – B

This produces D♭7

4. Lower A♭ → G → G7

G – B – D – F

This produces G7

What This Means Musically

All four dominant chords:

Contain three notes of the original diminished chord

Differ by one chromatic resolution

Share the same internal voice-leading logic

Rather than thinking in terms of substitutions, Barry Harris encourages you to hear these dominants as different resolutions of the same diminished tension.

Below is the same systematic development, now focused only on minor 6 chords generated from F°7, using the same Barry Harris logic.

Developing Minor 6 Chords from F°7

In the Barry Harris system, a minor 6 chord is created by raising any single note of a fully diminished seventh chord by a half-step.

Because the diminished chord is symmetrical, F°7 generates four different minor 6 chords.

Starting point

F°7
Notes: F – A♭ – B – D (E♭♭)

1. Raise F → F♯→ B minor 6

B – D – F♯ – A♭(G♯)

This produces B minor 6.

2. Raise B → C → F minor 6

F – A♭ – C – D

This produces F minor 6.

3. Raise D → E♭ → A♭minor 6

A♭– B (C♭) – E♭– F

This produces A♭minor 6.

4. Raise A♭→ A → D minor 6

D – F – A – B

This produces D minor 6.

What This Shows

Each minor 6 chord:

Contains three notes from F°7

Is created by stabilizing one diminished note upward

Retains diminished motion inside a tonic minor sound

Barry Harris viewed the minor 6 chord as the natural tonic minor.

Below is the same treatment, now focused only on major 6 chords generated from F°7, following Barry Harris’ logic precisely.

Developing Major 6 Chords from F°7

In the Barry Harris system, a major 6 chord is created by lowering two consecutive notes of a fully diminished seventh chord.

Consecutive notes would be F – A♭, A♭– B, B – D, D – F

Because the diminished chord is symmetrical, F°7 generates four different major 6 chords.

Starting point

F°7
Notes: F – A♭ – B – D (E♭♭)

1. Lower D → D♭ and F → E → E major 6

E – A ♭– B – D♭(C♯)

This produces E major 6.

2. Lower B → B♭ and A♭→ G → B♭major 6

B♭– D – F – G

This produces B♭major 6.

3. Lower F → E and A♭→ G → G major 6

G – B – D – E

This produces G major 6.

4. Lower D → D♭ and B → B♭ → D♭major 6

D♭– F – A♭ – B♭

This produces D♭major 6.

What This Shows

Each major 6 chord:

Is formed by resolving two adjacent diminished notes downward

Contains two stable chord tones and two resolved tensions

Preserves smooth half-step voice-leading

Barry Harris favored the major 6 chord because it allows diminished motion to continue naturally inside a major key.

Below is the same structured explanation, now focused only on dominant 7♭5 chords generated from F°7, staying strictly within the Barry Harris framework.

Developing Dominant 7♭5 Chords from F°7

In the Barry Harris system, a dominant 7♭5 chord is created by altering two non-consecutive notes of a fully diminished seventh chord (either raised or lowered by a half-step).

Non-consecutive notes are F – B, A♭– D

Because the diminished chord is symmetrical, F°7 can generate four different dominant 7♭5 chords, all related by minor thirds.

Starting point

F°7
Notes: F – A♭– B – D (E♭♭)

1. Lower D → D♭ and A♭→ G → G7♭5 and D♭7♭5

G – B – D♭– F

D♭– F – G (A♭♭) – B (C♭)

This produces G7♭5 and D♭7♭5

2. Raise D → E♭ and A♭→ A → B7♭5 and F7♭5

B – E♭– F – A

F – A – B – E♭

This produces B7♭5 and F7♭5

3. Lower B → B♭ and F → E → E7♭5 and B♭7♭5

E – A♭(G) – B♭– D

B♭– D – E – A ♭

This produces E7♭5 and B♭7♭5

4. Raise F → F♯ and B → C → D7♭5 and A♭7♭5

D – F♯ – A♭ – C

A♭– C – D – F♯ (G♭)

This produces D7♭5 and A♭7♭5

What This Shows

Each dominant ♭5 chord:

Comes from two non-adjacent diminished notes resolving

Retains two notes of the original diminished chord

Sits between a regular dominant and full diminished tension

Barry Harris used the dominant ♭5 sound as a way to intensify dominant motion without breaking the internal logic of the diminished chord.